The PMI® tracked with its typical Q4 decline, but dropped an unusual 15% to a two year low of 82.51. The monitored secondary patent assignments dropped to 1,810, within the range of seven of the last nine quarters following Q3’s second highest recorded rise in two years.

“The Q4 2017 15% drop in the PMI® is unusual, but tracks with the traditional Q4 transaction recording lag and the lower number of large transactions seen currently” says Michael Lubitz, CEO and Chairman of GTT Group. “The PMI should return to the 90 plus range during the first half of 2018.“

Allied Security Trust (AST) became the leader in the Most Active Deal Maker acquirers of Q4 2017; Knapp Investment Company, Red Hat, and RPX also made the list. Hitachi led the list of sellers, followed by notables such as AT&T, IBM, Panasonic, and Sharp.